iTunes Essentials – Aerosmith

September 9, 2009 | Posted by Randydeluxe

I know what you’re thinking.

Of course iTunes has an Essentials listing for Aerosmith.

No, they don’t.

But, they’re the best selling American hard rock band of all time!  They have 150 tracks in iTunes!

Still, there is no iTunes Essentials listing for Aerosmith.  This is because only half of Aerosmith’s catalog is available in iTunes.  Aerosmith changed labels a couple of times, and were left with no relationship with the party that owns the rights to sell their first few albums.  Those are available on Amazon, but only as complete albums.  The iTunes Essentials team at Apple doesn’t want to classify Aerosmith’s best songs without the ability to promote half of them, or worse, by pointing to live versions of those songs that upset customers who think they’re getting the originals.  But that won’t stop me!

With over 150 million albums sold, 21 top forty hits and, 9 number one hits and four Grammys, Aerosmith was a shoe-in for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which inducted them in 2001.  Their success speaks for itself, and it baffles me as to why iTunes can’t just contain all their songs and promote them like I’m about to.  Essentials represents the starting point for collectors, as well as a concentration of the best for those who already have most everything.  This list covers 40 years of music:

The Basics

1. Dream On – Aerosmith’s signature song, the first single from their first, self-titled album.
2. Sweet Emotion – The breakthrough single from their third album, Toys In The Attic.
3. I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – I’d like to, but can’t go on without highlighting Aerosmith’s greatest hit, from the 1998 Armageddon soundtrack.
4. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) – After a few years of ill-fortune, Aerosmith rocketed back with this single from Permanent Vacation.
5. Walk This Way – The memorable Toys In The Attic track goes here, but don’t forget the Run DMC mix, from their 1986 album Raising Hell.
6. Love In An Elevator – The complete package Aerosmith tune, from Pump, circa 1989.
7. Cryin’ – Big guitars, big horns, big bass, all that.  From the 1993 hitmaker album Get A Grip.
8. Come Together – The Beatles cover from the Sgt. Pepper movie was also featured on the Armageddon soundtrack, and is therefore available – barely – in iTunes.
9. Back In The Saddle – 1976 was the peak of ‘old Aerosmith’ success, and this track from Rocks would not literally come true until Aerosmith hooked up with Bruce Fairbain a decade later. (Live version)
10. Janie’s Got A Gun – Gritty social commentary from Pump, complete with nearly-R-rated David Fincher video.
11. Angel – The 80’s power ballad, and one of their most successful singles.  From Permanent Vacation.
12. Crazy – From Get A Grip, and most often remembered for music video starring Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler.
13. Hole In My Soul – Hugely sad song about loss and longing, from Nine Lives.
14. Jaded – Aerosmith pop for the 21st century, from Just Push Play.  Video starred Mila Kunis.
15. Same Old Song And Dance – The best track on Aerosmith’s 2nd album, 1974’s Get Your Wings. (Live version)

Next Steps

1. What It Takes – “There Goes My Old Girlfriend” starts this classic, from Pump.
2. Fever – A really great way to start something energetic, from  Get A Grip.
3. Deuces Are Wild – How often does the extra track on a greatest hits package turn out to be this good?  From Big Ones.
4. Rag Doll – A reminder of what a fantastic drummer Joey Kramer is, from Permanent Vacation.
5. Draw The Line – The title track from Aerosmith’s 1977 album.
6. Baby, Please Don’t Go – The oft-covered Big Joe Williams classic erupted from Aerosmith on 2004’s Honkin’ On Bobo.
7. Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) – From Nine Lives, only their third single to sell over half-a-million copies.
8. Just Push Play – Aerosmith was pretty good at naming their albums after one of the best songs therein.
9. Young Lust – The lead track from Pump, well, rocks.
10. Big Ten Inch Record – Blues rock cover of a Bull Moose Jackson song, sexual innuendo intact, from Toys In The Attic.
11. Permanent Vacation – Was passed over as a potential single, but check out those guitars!
12. Pink – A not surprisingly heaping helping of sexual innuendo (and humor) from Nine Lives.

Deep Cuts

1. Livin’ On The Edge – Get A Grip’s first single shot to #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
2. Remember (Walking In The Sand) – Shangri-Las cover released as a standalone single in 1980.
3. Fly Away From Here – Beautiful ballad about moving on, from Just Push Play.
4. Kiss Your Past Good-bye – Sort of a natrual-pairing with the previous song, from Nine Lives.
5. Kings And Queens – Complicated number from Draw The Line.
6. The Other Side – Butt-kickin’ rock, horns and rhymes from Pump.
7. I’m Down – On Permanent Vacation, Aerosmith didn’t yet know how up they were.
8. Blind Man – A tall tale of wonder from Big Ones.
9. What Kind Of Love Are You On – That greatest hit from the Armageddon soundtrack was so huge that it had coattails.  This song was on them.
10. Angel’s Eye – Surprisingly impossible-to-find single from the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack.  Currently excluded from iTunes.
11. Taste Of India – Tribute to the 2nd largest country on the planet, from Nine Lives.
12. Amazing – The song this list was destined to end on.  The last track on Get A Grip.

It’s amazing – with the blink of an eye, you finally see the light.  It’s amazing – when the moment arrives that you know you’ll be all right.  It’s amazing, and I’m saying a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight.

Good night!

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